Pakistani actor Mahira Khan made her Bollywood debut alongside Shah Rukh Khan in 2017. Director Rahul Dholakia recently revealed that several leading ladies, including Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor, and Anushka Sharma, were considered for the role, but none worked out. Ultimately, the role went to Mahira, who happened to be in Mumbai during the casting process.
In a recent interview with casting director Mukesh Chhabra, Rahul explained that they needed an actress to portray a Muslim girl from the 1980s.Their priority was to find someone with strong Hindi speaking skills, ideally with a slight Urdu accent, and an innocent demeanor. Given that Shah Rukh Khan was 50 at the time, they were looking for a heroine in her 30s. However, there were very few actresses in India who fit this description with the required Hindi proficiency and innocence.
While they considered stars like Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor, and Anushka Sharma, the issue was that these actresses were too expensive for a relatively small role. They also explored options like Sonam Kapoor and Katrina Kaif but realized none of them were a good fit for the character. Rahul added that it simply wouldn’t work for Shah Rukh Khan to romance someone like Alia Bhatt.
He continued by mentioning that Gauri Khan‘s mother and his own mother had both seen Mahira in a Pakistani television show and praised her, saying she was good. Honey Trehan, who was casting for the project, informed him that Mahira was in Mumbai for promotional work. Trehan offered to bring her in for an audition the following day. After auditioning Mahira at the Excel office, he declared that he had found his Aasiya.
Though not explicitly mentioned, Mahira gained fame for her leading role in Humsafar, one of Pakistan’s most beloved drama series.